Topless club closer to getting state liquor OK

Owners of The Furnace, a topless dancing club that has Birmingham City Council backing, have moved closer to gaining a state liquor license.

The hearing commission of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has recommended that the $3.5 million club be granted a liquor license. The request now goes before the full ABC board on March 22.

The downtown club was scheduled to open last summer and has been planned since 1999.

If the application is approved by the board, the 6,000-square-foot club could open in two months, said Ferris Ritchey, an attorney for the owner.

The club's license was rejected twice before, when questions about disclosure of ownership were raised.

The hearing commission voted to recommend approval Wednesday after an amended license application listed 49-year-old Leon A. Kontos Jr., a Birmingham businessman, as the owner of the land where the building is located.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Scott Vowell in December told club owner Gregory Jackson to identify everyone with a profit interest in the club, including the landowner.

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